I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy

I like David Letterman’s Top Ten Lists. I used to never go to bed without watching his monologue just to hear the Top Ten List. And that was back when he came on at 12:30 a.m. after "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" went off. How did I sit up so late back then? I had to "sit up late" last night to watch the season premier of CSI, which goes off at 10:00!) Anyway, some time go I ran across the Top Ten List of “Things You Seldom Hear in Church.”

• “Hey, it’s my turn to sit on the front pew!”
• “I didn’t notice the sermon ran 25 minutes over.”
• “What this church really needs is more announcements!”
• “Personally, I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf.”
• “Let’s give the $500 a month we pay in country club fees to church.”
• “Who do I see to volunteer to teach the Junior High class.”
• “I just love it when we sing those new songs I’ve never heard before.”
• “Nothing inspires me more than another sermon on giving!”
• “Our list of volunteers is getting to long; we need to cut it down”
• “Nothing is more enjoyable or fun than coming to church.”

Do we often use the word “church” and “enjoy” in the same sentence? Or do we see church as being like medicine… it’s really is good for you, but it tastes bad... and it really isn't good for you unless it does taste bad! And maybe it’s not just church. Maybe we approach the entirety of our Christian lives like that. How many Christians look like they were weaned on a sour pickle? How many believers are joyless pessimists who see life like a glass a half-empty? How many church members are by nature critical of others and critical of things at church?

We act like we don’t understand that the Christian life to be a life of JOY. The noun "joy" (chara) appears 59 times in the New Testament; its verb form (chairo) is used another 72 times. So, there is a lot of joy in the New Testament! In fact, that was the standard Greek greeting. You met someone, you didn’t say, “How’s it going?” You said "Joy be with you." This is the greeting Paul uses, along with the Hebrew “shalom” (“peace”) to begin his letters. This is also the greeting used two other special occasions.

• The angel who told Mary she was with child said, “Joy” (Lk 1:28)
• Jesus met the women after Resurrection said, “Joy” (Matt 28:9)

Joy is mentioned at the beginning (birth of Jesus) and end (the resurrection) of the gospel story itself! The gospel begins and ends with joy. That doesn’t mean that life will always be a happy-go-lucky-pinch-me-I'm-so-excited expereince. But it does mean that our lives should always reflect the joy of the Lord. I think we need to consider our hole outlook on life. If our lives are not characterized by a deeper inner joy that expresses itself in some positive way, it is entirely possible we're not doing Christianity right.